AEW Acquires Trio of Florida Senior Communities

The properties opened from 2016 to 2019.

AEW Capital Management has acquired a portfolio of three Florida senior housing communities. The seller was Titan Development. The properties that changed hands were Watercrest Buena Vista and Watercrest Spanish Springs in The Villages, 45 miles northwest of Orlando, and Watercrest Winter Park in Winter Park, directly north of Orlando.

Opened in 2018, Watercrest Buena Vista is a three-story, Class A building offering a continuum of care. The community features 224 residences: 118 independent living, 74 assisted living and 32 memory care units. The property’s full amenity package includes a heated pool, fitness center, salon, media room, bistro and bar and golf car charging station. Underground parking is also available.

Completed in 2016, Watercrest Spanish Springs is a three-story property featuring 86 assisted living and memory care units. The suite of amenities include restaurant-style dining, social gathering areas, salon services, programming and activities and wellness and exercise programs.


READ ALSO: The Road Ahead: Senior Housing Trends to Watch in 2025


Welcoming its first move-ins in 2019, Watercrest Winter Park is a 106-unit assisted living and memory care community in the Orlando suburb of Winter Park. The community features amenities including a pool with verandas, social gathering areas, a cafe, dining options, transportation services, chef-prepared meals and wellness and exercise programs. It notches some of the market’s higher rents.

Home to 80,000 residents 65 and older, The Villages is the largest age-restricted master-planned community in the U.S. It has been among the swiftest expanding municipalities in the nation for the last 10 years. It features golf courses, recreation opportunities, walking trails, outdoor green space, retail and dining options and entertainment.

JLL’s Senior Housing Capital Markets team represented the seller in the transaction. JLL is also stewarding the acquisition financing for two of the properties, anticipated to close later this month. AEW retained Watercrest Senior Living, the current operator of the properties, as the third-party operator.

Late last year, AVIVA Senior Living opened the first independent senior living community in St. Lucie West, Fla. The property features 159 one- and two-bedroom homes across a 10-acre site. Residents have access to pickleball courts, a pool and a sundeck, a putting green, walking trails and a dog park.